Why Does God Allow Hypocrites and False Teachers?

[David]

(Matthew 7:15–23; 2 Peter 2:1–3; 2 Timothy 3:1–5)

Have you ever been in a restaurant and tasted one bite of food and said, “This is horrible! I’m never eating again”? No. You don’t go back to that restaurant. But that’s what many people do with Christianity. They see a hypocrite in church, a preacher caught in a scandal, a phony teacher on TV, and say, “This is why I don’t believe in God.”

But a church full of hypocrites doesn’t prove God isn’t real; it proves His Word is true. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). Jesus didn’t say, “Maybe one day you’ll run across a few.” He said it was going to happen.

God warned us that impostors would come. It would be smiling faces with rotten fruit. Paul said that people in the last days “will have a form of godliness but deny its power” (2 Tim. 3:5). Peter said false teachers “secretly bring in destructive heresies and, in their greed, exploit you with false words” (2 Pet. 2:1–3). So when we see hypocrisy in the church, it shouldn’t surprise us; it should remind us that God’s Word nailed it exactly.

Think of it like counterfeit money. The fact that there’s fake currency doesn’t make the real dollar worthless, it proves the real thing has value. No one counterfeits something that isn’t valuable. In the same way, Satan doesn’t waste his time imitating false religions that already deny Christ; he counterfeits the truth to confuse and deceive those who are searching for it.

So why does God allow it? He’s patient. God allows time for exposure, repentance, and testing. Hypocrites don’t destroy the truth; they expose their own hearts. “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:16), Jesus said. Time always tells. A bad tree can only fake good fruit for so long before it starts rotting in public view. That is why we need to know and study the bible for ourselves.

God is not mocked, and every false teacher will one day stand before God to give an account for the souls they misled. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus said, “but the one who does the will of my Father” (Matt. 7:21).

So don’t let hypocrites keep you from Christ. Counterfeit Christians only make the real ones shine brighter. The failures of men don’t cancel out the faithfulness of God. If you’ve been burned by fakes, don’t give up on the truth, go back to the Word.

God’s patience isn’t approval; it’s opportunity. He’s giving them time to repent, and He’s giving you time to see who’s real.

“The Lord knows those who are His” (2 Tim. 2:19).

 

[bobinfaith]

Hello David;

I may be repeating what you're already sharing. God gives us free will, "freely choosing."

Going all the way back to Joshua 24:15, 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” - NIV

Why does God allow hypocrites and false teachers, is the same why for other's loss of respect for human life, and why God allowed me to make sinful choices that impact others.

If God forced our love and obedience to Him and toward others would result in fabricated affection instead of genuine transparency.

God bless you, David.

bobinfaith

 

[A.W. Bowman]

• I can’t answer for David or Jesus, but I can offer an idea.
• 
  
• I do see a pattern. First, there was the choosing of Judas Iscariot to be counted among the disciples, even the chosen 12. My supposition is that even though Jesus knew that Judas was a devil, he was necessary for the fulfillment of Scripture, i.e. the betrayal of Christ. So why does God allow false teachers and prophets in the church today? Perhaps for the same reason. Yet, I think the reason may include the sifting of the shaft from the wheat within the church. (Matt 7:15, 14:11, etc., and of course Acts 17:10,11)

 

[David]

So why does God allow false teachers and prophets in the church today?

When thinking about the question, “So why does God allow false teachers and prophets in the church today?” got me thinking. My original post, “Why Does God Allow Hypocrites and False Teachers?” I was not necessarily meaning in the church but anywhere. Just seems they claim they are Christians but are not. But back to the question, “So why does God allow false teachers and prophets in the church today?” I don’t think it’s God who allows false teachers and prophets in the church today, the problem, to me, seems that many churches no longer follow the true God. They’ve turned from the authority of His Word and opened the door to everything that pleases the crowd.

Paul warned about this very thing: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3). That’s exactly what I think we are seeing today, churches trading truth for popularity, holiness for hype.

When people reject the truth, God allows deception to take its place. “Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved… God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:10–11). It’s not that God approves of false teaching, it’s that many have stopped upholding the truth, so lies rush in to fill the vacuum.

This is why Jesus warned, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name… and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:4–5). It’s sad, but it’s also a call for the true church to return to the Word of God.

If a church wants God’s presence and power, it must go back to preaching His truth without compromise. “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). When we hold fast to that, there’s no room for deception to take root.